Improvement in low-water alarms and indicators



i. ROSS.

Lo'w water Alarms and Indicators.

,NO. 137,097. f PatentedMarch 25,1873.

UNITED STATES Parana @rrroa.

JOHN ROSS, OF GREENVILLE, MICHIGAN.

iMPRGVEMENT m Low-warm ALARMS AND lame/woes.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,097, dated March25,1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN Ross, of Greenville, in the county of Montcalmand State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement inLow-Water Alarm and Indicator and I do declare that the following is atrue and accurate description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon andbeing a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspectiveview of a two-flue boiler fitted with my improved alarm, a portion ofthe shell being broken away to show the float. float and dial-shaft andtheir attachments, and Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the dial-shaft andcam at at a; in Fig. 1.

Like letters refer to like parts in each figure.

The nature of this invention relates to an improvement in that class oflow-water indicators and alarms which are operated by a float containedin the boiler to which they are attached, and has for its object tocombine with such indicators a whistle to be operated at any desiredpoint in the rotation of the indicator-shaft. The invention consists inthe general construction of the indicator; in the peculiar form of thehollow metallic float, which is less liable to quick or irregularvibration in the foaming or priming of the boiler, and thus insures acorrect indication of the general levelof the water; and in connectionwith an indicator having a rotary index-shaft, a whistle alarm operatedby a cam on said shaft, in the manner more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawing, A represents a flue-boiler, to which is attached awhistle, B, whose valvelever O has suspended to it a rod, D, in front ofthe boiler, and weighted at the lower end,

' above which a catch, a, is attached to and projects from the side ofthe rod. E is a shaft, journaled through a stuffing-box, b, in the fronthead, and a bracket within the boiler, its rear end being bent to aright angle to form a lever, to the'end of which is suspended, by a rod,F, the float G, which is a watertight hollow cylinder with long conicalends. The outer end of the shaft projects into a dial-case, H, andcarries at its extremity an in- Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the.

dex, c, the case being supported at a little distance from the boiler bytwo rods, cl 01. Back of the dial a cam, e, is adjustably secured to theshaft E by a set-screw, e. The catch of the rod D is placed upon thedial supporting rod 01, which sustains the weight of the rod D andwhistle-lever.

WVhen the water is at the proper height above the flues the cam e isadjusted on the shaft behind the catch a, so that it will not come intocontact with the latter so long as the water in the boiler is at orabove the proper level, and secured there by its set-screw. If the waterfalls below the proper level, the shaft, being rotated by the float,will cause the cam to push the catch off its supportingrod, when theweight suspended from the whistle-lever will open the whistle-valve and.sound an alarm.

When it is not desired to use the alarm the catch a may be hooked ontothe rod d behind the cam of the dial-shaft.

The peculiar form of float shown has several advantages, first amongthem being the greater steadiness of the float, owing to its length inproportion to its breadth and dis placement, at such times as foaming ofthe boiler is occurring, which, in case spherical floats are employed,is liable to deceive the engineer as to the actual height of water inthe boiler; the conical ends insure greater strength to the float, asthey cannot be injured at pressures which would collapse and destroy asquare-ended float, which also enables me to use lighter metal in thisform, and thus increase the buoyancy of' the float.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-- 1. The cranked shaft E journaled through the stuffing-box?) andbracket, the rod 15, float G, the dial-case H supported by the rods d d,and the index 0 at the end of the shaft E, all arranged to operate as awater-indicator, sub stantially in the manner described.

2. The weighted rod D provided with the catch a suspended from the leverof an alar1nwhistle, and the adjustable cam e on the shaft of thewater-indicator, arranged to operate in the manner and for the purposeset forth.

Witnesses: JOHN ROSS.

H. F. EBERTS, H. S. SPRAGUIE.

